Legendary LSU quarterback Billy Cannon, left, and coach Paul Dietzel led the Tigers in 1958. Dietzel died Tuesday at the age of 89.

Written by

Glenn Guilbeau
gguilbeau@gannett.com

Paul Dietzel, LSU's matinee idol former football coach, died peacefully Tuesday morning at the age of 89 in the town he loved and to which he kept returning.

"Dad touched so many lives," Dietzel's son Steve said Tuesday afternoon. "It's unbelievable the people we've heard from today and who have left notes like, 'You shook my hand after the Ole Miss game in 1959, and I'll never forget it.'"

The blonde-haired and handsome Dietzel authored LSU mythology while coach from 1955-61, but it was all true. There was the 11-0 national championship in 1958, courtesy of an innovative, three-pronged ...